The State government has told the Bombay High Court that five public health laboratories offer free diagnosis for swine flu and 42, 492 people were immunised at the labs last year.
An affidavit was submitted before a Division Bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Nitin Sambre. It read, “On February 21, 2015, the State had established three expert technical committees: one each from Mumbai, Nagpur and rest of Maharashtra. These committees have been established to issue approval to private laboratories for influenza HINI diagnosis. As on January 14, 2018, the five labs are: NIV at Pune, Hatkine Institute at Mumbai, Microbiology Department GMC at Akola, Kasturba Hospital at Mumbai and IGMC at Nagpur.”
The affidavit mentioned that there are 19 private laboratories in the State and that necessary steps are being taken to open adequate number of detection centres and laboratories. Permission has also been given to use the Trunet kit in Molbio laboratory as a point of care test at hospitals and in remote areas.
The affidavit also points out measures taken for prevention and control of influenza in Maharashtra. The measures include establishment of Maharashtra Communicable Diseases’ Prevention and Control Technical Committee under Dr, Subhash Salunke and comprising experts and officers from public health and other departments. Other steps include regular influenza surveillance, establishment of screening centres and isolation wards, setting up laboratory diagnosis facility, ensuring adequate stock of drug and other logistics in State, providing medical reimbursement and influenza vaccination for high risk people.
The affidavit says that free voluntary influenza vaccination is given to the high risk group, which includes second and third trimester pregnant women, hypertensive and diabetic persons and health care workers.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Advocate Datta Mane.
